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KINGSTON, Ont. - Kingston police say “security concerns” prompted the sudden evacuation of the Frontenac County Courthouse, where the Shafia murder trial is under way, about 20 minutes before the hearing was set to resume Thursday morning.

Staff Sgt. Chris Scott, the officer who headed the investigation into the murder case, shouted into the upper lobby of the building at 9:40 a.m., telling people to leave the building immediately. At the time, more than 100 people, including about two dozen journalists, were lined up, waiting to get into the courtroom for the resumption of the prosecution’s closing address to jurors.

Scott did not give any indication about the nature of the problem but lawyers leaving the building told The Gazette building staff told them a bomb threat had been made.

About 45 minutes after the evacuation began, a police officer met with reporters on the front steps of the building. “We have some security concerns that have come to light this morning here at the courthouse. As it stands now, the court will be closed until at least 1 p.m., at which time we will re-evaluate whether or not the court will be open for the rest of the day,” Kingston police Staff Sgt. Bill Kennedy said.

He would not provide any more information about the nature of the threat and he would not say what was being done inside the building. He would not say if the incident was related to the Shafia trial.

Kingston police tactical officers, a canine unit and uniformed officers swarmed over the building during the evacuation, as everyone inside, including lawyers and judges, was herded out onto the front lawn of the two-storey stone building.

During the evacuation, the defendants – Mohammad Shafia, 58, his second wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed Shafia, 21 – were escorted out of the building by police and driven away from the property in a prisoner van.

The three, from Montreal, are each charged with four counts of first-degree murder. All have pleaded not guilty.

Sisters Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, and Geeti Shafia, 13, along with Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, who was Shafia’s first wife in the polygamous family, were found dead on June 30, 2009, inside a car submerged in a shallow canal in Kingston. They had drowned.

Investigators could not determine where and how the victims drowned.

Prosecutors allege the victims died in an honour killing, arranged by Mohammad Shafia, because he believed his daughters had shamed him by dressing in revealing clothes and consorting with boys. Mohammad supported the three girls and wanted a divorce, jurors have heard.

Crown lawyer Laurie Lacelle had begun her closing arguments to jurors on Wednesday and was scheduled to complete them Thursday.

The case is being heard in Ontario Superior Court by Justice Robert Maranger.

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